Essential Online Tools for Small Businesses – Part 2: Images

I’d like to think that I know something about my strengths and weaknesses. It is all too easy to become overwhelmed with wearing every hat within your business and it is truly difficult to sometimes get over yourself and take a step back from every process involved.

One of my all-time favourite business books is The E-Myth Revisted by Michael Gerber and I thoroughly recommend any small business owner should read it. He breaks down all of the various roles within a business and invites you as the reader to only focus on the things you’re good at. It’s in my top five business books here.

I’m all about making processes easier and when I discover new tools to do this, I’m keen to share them. We all need more time in the day, so finding tools that allow us to find more time are truly invaluable!

So, images….I know my way around programs like Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop, and have spent countless hours manipulating images for websites, videos, flyers and presentations. I still use these programs as I’m familiar with how they work, but lately I’ve been using two other extremely powerful and free tools to create beautiful things.

Snapseed

This is a free app that has been designed by our friends at Google. It works a little like Instagram. You can crop, adjust levels, add vignette and apply brushes to certain areas. Where it really sets itself apart however is with the addition of being able to add text.

I’m not saying that I’m going to win any awards with the above image (and I’m sure you’re all intrigued by the sheep-rescuing bit), but there’s something very professional about the font feature in Snapseed, and it’s very easy to get a inspirational quote or title looking pretty good. It’s also a completely offline app, which means you can carry on creating, even in a lead-lined cave.

I’m pretty new to this online program having been introduced to it by Guy Kawasaki. It’s an incredible platform that makes designing…well, fun! They have plenty of templates, loads of stock photos (some are free, others cost $1), and it’s incredibly easy to use.

Canva also allows you to enter the specifics of your brand, including your logo and what colours make up your theme:

As I mentioned, I’m still getting used to Canva.com but I’m sure there’s loads to discover and I can’t wait (I’m geeky like that!). This took me around 20 seconds to create, just to give an example of the sorts of thing you can create: